Convertible tool storage rack

ABSTRACT

A storage rack for attachment to a wall surface for the storage of a wheelbarrow or, alternatively, an assortment of longhandled, household tools such as rakes, shovels, mops, etc. A crossmember mounts flexible, detachable bails positionable to best suit tool storage purposes. An upright member is apertured to receive a tool support member in a detachable, suspended manner positionable along said member to best suit existing storage purposes. A modified bail member is disclosed along with a modified support member both particularly adapted for the storage of long-handled tools.

United States Patent 1 Ratzloff et al.

[ Oct. 28, 1975 CONVERTIBLE TOOL STORAGE RACK [76] Inventors: Harry Ratzloff, 4399 Barbara Way NE., Salem, Oreg. 97303; Jacob J. Reimer, Box 204, Hesston, Kans. 67062 [22] Filed: Oct. 3, I974 [21] Appl. No.: 511,620

[52] US. Cl. 211/88; 248/223; 248/201; 21 1/60 T [51] Int. Cl. A47F 5/08 [58] Field of Search 211/23, 24, 88, 89, 60 SK, 211/60 T, 71; 248/DIG. 3, 223, 224, 225, 309, 12, 126, 201; 24/73 HH, 73 PF [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,815,863 12/1957 Larson 211/60 T 2,913,210 11/1959 Tichnor 248/223 3,170,612 2/1965 Blumenschein 211/60 T 3,202,292 8/1965 Deliso 248/224 3,682,426 8/1972 Owen .1 248/225 D190,85O 7/1961 Strachan 248/DIG. 3

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 490,378 2/1953 Canada 211/60 T Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Robert A. Hafer Attorney, Agent, or FirmJames D. Givnan, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A storage rack for attachment to a wall surface for the storage of a wheelbarrow or, alternatively, an assortment of long-handled, household tools such as rakes, shovels, mops, etc. A crossmember mounts flexible, detachable bails positionable to best suit tool storage purposes. An upright member is apertured to receive a tool support member in a detachable, suspended manner positionable along said member to best suit existing storage purposes. A modified bail member is disclosed along with a modified support member both particularly adapted for the storage of long-handled tools.

3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent 0a. 28, 1975 CONVERTIBLE TOOL STORAGE RACK BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to storage racks of the type for mounting on a wall surface and more particularly to'a rack for supporting a wheelbarrow in anupright'position with a-modified form of the rack adaptable for the support of household items such as various types of garden implements.

Existing storage racksjthat I am aware of, do not permit the upright storage of a wheelbarrow but rather are limited simply to the storage of household items. Storage of awheelbarrow compactly against a wall is not feasible for the reason that known racks rely onhandle engaging holders which are lightly spring biased and capable of supporting only lightweight tools such as shovels, rakes, hoes, etc. Tl'ie spacing of a wheelbarrows handle grips along with their nonparallel relationship and wheelbarrow weight renders existing racks unsuitable for wheelbarrow storage. Further, known racks are not readily adaptable for the support of the many types of garden tools normally found. within a household garage or toolshed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is embodied within a rack having horizontal and vertical members each of which include readily detachable, tool supporting members "to permit the rack to be readily adapted'for the storage purposes intended.

The rack comprises a horizontal member adapted for wall attachment'having a series'of spaced apart openings therealong shaped to receive detachable bails which receivethe handles of a wheelbarrow or, alternatively, the handle end of a household garden tool. Said bails are preferably of a flexible nature to enable positive engagement with said horizontal member yet permitting convenient detachment, repositioning or replacement. An upright member of the rack is also wall mounted and defines openings therealong which may selectively receive either a wheelbarrow supporting member or an elongate tool supporting member. In conjunction with the latter, a modified bail is disclosed for the orderly retention of a number of garden tool handles. Said support members include rearwardly extending projections for selective insertion within the apertures in the upright member.

Important objectives of the present rack include the provision of a rack particularly adapted for the storage of a wheelbarrow or, alternatively, an assortment of garden tools, the provision of a rack having differently configured bails for selective biased engagement with a horizontal rack member to accommodate wheelbarrows regardless of wheelbarrow handle spacing, the provision of a rack including interchangeable support members to best suit the storage task at hand, the provision of a rack readily convertible from the storage of garden tools to a wheelbarrow and vice versa all without removal of threaded fasteners. Additional objects of the rack will become apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is aperspective view of the present rack with a wheelbarrow stored thereon shown in fragmentary broken lines,

FIG. 2.is a plan view of a'bail for use with the 'rack,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 3-3 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of a rack'segment andinserted bail end,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 55 of FIG. 1 showing rack and support member details,

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of a bail,

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a modified support member, and

FIG. 8 is a side'elevational view of the support member taken from the left hand side of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With "continuing reference to the accompanying drawing wherein applied reference numerals indicate parts similarly identified in the following specification, the reference numeral '1 identifies a horizontal crossmember preferably of channel iron construction for securernent to a wall surface by fasteners 2. Spaced at intervals along said crossmember are openings 3 of the configuration seen in FIG. 4 for the reception of bail members 4.

With attention to FIG 2, a bail member, which may be of wire construction, is shown having outwardly biased diverging legs 4A terminating in enlarged head portions 5. The pair of heads 5 are spaced :1 distance somewhat greater than the horizontal distance between each opening 3 requiring inward biasing of the bail legs 4A for registration of heads 5 with openings 3 in crossmember 1. The flexible nature of the bail member permits such temporary flexing for engagement purposes with subsequent release of the bail resulting in locked engagement of bail legs 4A with slot-like extensions 3A in openings 3. Conversely, bail release entails simply the inward flexing of bail leg members 4A into alignment with their respective openings 3 permitting outward extraction of the bail for subsequent reattachment along the crossmember to best suit existing tool storage purposes. Obviously, legs 4A could be of converging configuration.

A connector plate at 6 is apertured to receive fasteners 7 and 8 securing an upright holder member 10 to crossmember l. The arrangement of fasteners 7 and 8 may be varied to permit certain of said fasteners to additionally serve as wall attachment fasteners as for example the use of wood screws passing through aligned openings in connector plate 6 and crossmember 1.

With attention jointly to FIGS. 1 and 5, the lower portion of vertical member 10 defines spaced apart openings 11 which receive a wheelbarrow support member 12 and specifically attachment elements 13 and 14 integral with the back side of support member 12. While the configuration of the support member is not critical to the present invention a desirable objective is that it include a barrier 15 formed by an upturned outer edge or lip portion which serves to confine the wheelbarrow W, and specifically the wheelbarrow pan against accidental dislodgement. A suitable engagement between support member 15 and member 10 is embodied within attachment elements having an angular prong as of the type shown at 13 insertable through an opening 11 with a companion prong at 14 being of straight configuration insertable within a subjacent opening whereby the support member may bear asymmetrical loads without tipping or dislodgement. A desirable advantage of such an attachment for support member 12 is that such permits convenient relocation of said member without the use of tools.

While the present holder is particularly useful for the storage of a wheelbarrow shown in a fragmentary manner at W, it may be readily converted into a storage rack for household tools normally stored in a garage or toolshed and particularly those tools termed garden tools. For such purposes, a single elongate bail at 16 is attached to horizontal member 1 in the same manner above described in connection with bail 4 with bail legs 16A being momentarily flexed inwardly for passage of head portions at 17 through openings 3. Projections at 18 on the bail serve to confine tool handles in spaced relationship to one another.

In FIG. 7, a support member at 20 is shown for use in conjunction with elongate bail 16 in the storage of a variety of tools. The modified support member is very similar to support member 12 in that it includes like projections at 21 and 22 for insertion within openings 1 1. The horizontal portion of support member 20 is of extended length to adequately receive and support several tools such as shovels, rakes, hoes, etc.,.

While we have shown but a few embodiments of the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied still otherwise without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is desired to be secured under a Letters Patent is:

1. A wheelbarrow storage rack for wall attachment said rack being convertible into a storage rack for garden tools, said rack comprising,

a crossmember of channel construction apertured at uniform intervals therealong,

an upright member extending perpendicularly downward from the center of said crossmember and defining spaced apart openings located along its lower portion, said upright member also being of channel construction,

a connector plate overlying adjacent portions of said crossmember and said upright member,

bail means of U-shape configuration having spaced apart flexible leg members in inserted engagement with the apertures defined by said crossmember, said bail means adapted to receive the spaced apart handles of a wheelbarrow and confine same in an upright stored position, each of said bail leg members terminating in enlarged head portions for retained engagement with the crossmember apertures, and

a wheelbarrow support member attached to the lower portion of said upright member including rearwardly directed projections engaged with selected pairs of openings in said upright member, said wheelbarrow support member having an upwardly inclined frontal lip confining the lower edge of the wheelbarrow tray against accidental dislodgement.

2. The rack claimed in claim 1 wherein said crossmember apertures are characterized by a laterally extending slotted extension for reception of a bail leg.

3. The rack claimed in claim 1 wherein said bail means is of elongate configuration engageable with said crossmember at points oppositely spaced from the connector plate to confine the handle portions of a variety of garden tools, and wherein said support member is also of elongate construction substantially equal in length to the elongate bail means permitting the rack to function as a garden tool storage rack for multiple tools. 

1. A wheelbarrow storage rack for wall attachment said rack being convertible into a storage rack for garden tools, said rack comprising, a crossmember of channel construction apertured at uniform intervals therealong, an upright member extending perpendicularly downward from the center of said crossmember and defining spaced apart openings located along its lower portion, said upright member also being of channel construction, a connector plate overlying adjacent portions of said crossmember and said upright member, bail means of U-shape configuration having spaced apart flexible leg members in inserted engagement with the apertures defined by said crossmember, said bail means adapted to receive the spaced apart handles of a wheelbarrow and confine same in an upright stored position, each of said bail leg members terminating in enlarged head portions for retained engagement with the crossmember apertures, and a wheelbarrow support member attached to the lower portion of said upright member including rearwardly directed projections engaged with selected pairs of openings in said upright member, said wheelbarrow support member having an upwardly inclined frontal lip confining the lower edge of the wheelbarrow tray against accidental dislodgement.
 2. The rack claimed in claim 1 wherein said crossmember apertures are characterized by a laterally extending slotted extension for reception of a bail leg.
 3. The rack claimed in claim 1 wherein said bail means is of elongate configuration engageable with said crossmember at points oppositely spaced from the connector plate to confine the handle portions of a variety of garden tools, and wherein said support member is also of elongate construction substantially equal in length to the elongate bail means permitting the rack to function as a garden tool storage rack for multiple tools. 